Calsonic North America expanding in Tennessee

Auto supplier Calsonic Kansei North America Inc. will add to its plastics capabilities as part of its $109 million investment in parts production in Tennessee.

The company will split the investment between its three sites in the state, the state of Tennessee said in a Sept. 3 news release. In Lewisburg, it will spend $49.8 million for improved production, including plastics components used in interiors. The plant also makes electronics for meters, inverters and dashboard electronics.

Calsonic Kansei also will add 526 employees to its current staff of 1,117 in Lewisburg and build a 300,000-square-foot warehouse.

At Shelbyville — which is also headquarters for the North American operation — CKNA will invest $57.6 million at a site producing exhaust units, catalytic converters and manifolds while adding 489 new jobs to its existing base of 1,010. The plant at Smyrna — which is housed within Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.'s assembly plant there — will see a $2.1 million boost in capabilities and bring in 183 new employees to the 469 people already at the site.